Reasons for Hope...

I'm looking around at the Obama appointments and beginning to breathe again. It looks like there may be some reason for optimism.

Holder, Daschle, Jones, Clinton (in a role that excludes much of Bill's drama potential)—and with some of the other names being floated, it's beginning to look like an actual government might be coming into office.

Geithner and Summers fit the grownup role much more than current management, even if they are both tainted by problems in the financial system that go back into the 90's and beyond. Neither was culpable in the massive increase of mortgage debt over the last five years.

Hopefully, we'll soon see more flesh and bones on getting people to work in the Obama jobs program—detail that won't involve a hugely time-consuming start-up phase, but might inject capital into projects that are ready to go.